The winners of the 46th Country Music Awards of Australia – The Toyota Golden Guitar Awards

The 2018 Country Music Awards of Australia – The Toyota Golden Guitar Awards topped off an incredible year for Australian country music with a production showcasing the talent and diversity of this year’s nominated artists at the Tamworth Region Entertainment and Conference Centre (TRECC) on Saturday, 27 January 2018.

It was The McClymonts night picking up three Awards from their six nominations, including the prestigious COUNTRY MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR Award for their #1 ARIA Country chart album Endless along with CONTEMPORARY COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Endless) and COUNTRY MUSIC CAPITAL NEWS GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR.

It was a powerful moment for those in the audience and those watching on the ABC Landline Facebook live stream when they performed their thought-provoking Don’t Wish It All Away cementing their status as Australia’s number one country group.
Travis Collins & Amber Lawrence are celebrating after also collecting three awards from their six nominations. Their first collaboration together has seen them take home, REGIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK VOCAL COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR (Our Backyard), APRA AMCOS SONG OF THE YEAR (Our Backyard) and SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Our Backyard).

With country music celebrating our people, our land, and our spirit, Travis & Amber’s performance of Our Backyard in the opening act was a vibrant celebration of just that - our land and its diverse geographic nature.

ALT-COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR winner Kasey Chambers became the 51st person to be honoured with the industry's most prestigious Award - The Australasian Country Music Roll of Renown during the show.

In making the presentation, last year's winner, Troy Cassar-Daley, said that Kasey had earned the admiration and respect of both her industry peers and her multitude of fans, all over the world. Time and time again, Troy said, she has demonstrated her extraordinary ability to connect with country and mainstream audiences in both Australia and overseas.”

Rounding out the album of the year awards was Ashleigh Dallas with her album Lighthouse awarded the inaugural TRADITIONAL COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

MALE and FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR went to Shane Nicholson and Aleyce Simmonds. This is Nicholson’s 10th Golden Guitar Award and Simmonds’ first. The win tops off a big year for the independent artist who adds 2018 FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR to her growing list of Awards including 2017 APRA AMCOS Country Work of the Year, 2017 Independent Artist of the Year and 2017 Independent Female Vocalist of the Year.

Tom Curtain and Luke O’Shea’s Never Never Land performance was another great moment in the show that celebrated our land and nature and won the artists two Awards on the night including, TOYOTA HERITAGE SONG OF THE YEAR and CMC VIDEO CLIP OF THE YEAR.

Other dual Award winners include the Davidson Brothers who have picked up BLUEGRASS RECORDING OF THE YEAR (Back Where I Started) and COCA-COLA INSTRUMENTAL OF THE YEAR (Evelyn’s Kitchen).

QANTASLINK NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR went to Brad Butcher and BUSH BALLAD OF THE YEAR to Dean Perrett

(Henbury Blues).

The event also saw the awarding of the previously announced 2018 SANITY TOP SELLING ALBUM OF THE YEAR Golden Guitar Award, which went to country super-star Lee Kernaghan for The 25th Anniversary Album. The album, which is largely made up of collaborations fit perfectly into the theme of the night which was all about celebrating the collaborative nature of country music.

In keeping with that theme, the show closed with an extraordinary performance of Waltzing Matilda by The Bushwackers & John Williamson and The Bush Choir. “Once again, the winner's compilation represents amazing talent, but more importantly the remarkable spectrum of music that is country music in Australia,” Dobe Newton, President of the Country Music Association
of Australia said.

Toyota Australia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Wayne Gabriel said: “On behalf of Toyota Australia, we'd like to congratulate all of the finalists and winners of the 2018 Toyota Golden Guitar Awards for their outstanding musical achievements and contributions throughout the year.” Toyota has been a proud partner of the Country Music Festival in Tamworth for 26 years, and we are thrilled to be able to continue our commitment to supporting country music in Australia from a grassroots level and beyond."

Premier of New South Wales, Ms Gladys Berejiklian MP attended the Awards and said: “Tamworth Country Music Festival showcases the very best in global talent and has catapulted numerous Australian artists to stardom.
“Through Destination NSW, we will continue to do all we can to support these types of events. They are good for the economy,

The Toyota Golden Guitar Awards are the only industry affiliated country music awards in Australia and the greatest celebration of Australian country music talent. The Awards are the pinnacle event of the Toyota Country Music Festival, Tamworth.